39 hours and counting!
We don't have a lot of resolution today - still no final ruling, but here are the highlights (lowlights, whatever you want to call them :-) )
-We will be meeting Kai-Yi's birth mother, possibly birth famliy
-Mr. Yeh or associate will pick us up from the airport, take us to meet Kai-Yi on March 4th, and drive us to the airport
-We may have to stay in a hotel near TaiChung, but we are for sure meeting our son on March 4th and he will stay with us until the final ruling is received!
and finally, read the quote of the day. Which comes from the social worker in Taiwan
"Kai-Yi is a cry baby, so it will be very difficult for him to leave the foster family with new parents. We plan to bring him to the agency that day, the foster mom will be with him, so the Shaffers can ask questions about the child's schedule and spend time with the child until he accepts them. The birth family will come to meet them. "
Oh boy..... that's about all we can say :-)
Here's our "informal, may change" itinerary
2/28 10:40 am Depart PHX for LAX
2/28 3:16 pm Depart LAX for Taipei
2/29 10:00 pm Arrive in Taipei!!! Get picked up by Mr. Yeh and go to Agora Garden Hotel
http://www.agoragdn.com.tw/
3/1 - Potentially visit Taroko Gorge with Craig and Mel. It's an all day tour to a beautiful scenic area in northeast Taiwan
3/2 - Go to Taroko Gorge if we didn't go on 1/1
These are the activities that we would like to do in Taipei. Thanks to my wonderful navigating husband, these activities are listed in groups of things that are in close proximity and could be done in the same day: (Please excuse the spelling, I'm totally guessing!) Not in any order....
***Meet Liz, Chris, Mel, & Judy who will be there at the same time!***
Day 1 Long Shan Temple , Snake Alley Night Market (where they charm snakes on the street - how cool!) / Chang Kai Shek Memorial, Visit Youth Park and walk on the stone path (did you watch Amazing Race last season?)
Day 2 Grand hotel, Martyrs Shrine / Shi Lin Night Market
Day 3 Taipei 101 (largest building in the world), Mitsukoshi Shopping Store to BUY KAI-YI SHOES!! (oh I can't wait!!!! Joyce says it's the "mecca" of shoes for little feet - oh sweet heaven!), Din Tai Fung (a famous dumpling restaurant that everyone raves about), Jade and Flower Market
Day 4 - Yang Ming Shan National Park, Yeilu (a place on the coast to see very interesting rock formations in Northern Taiwan)
Day 5 - Wulai, a place in central Taiwan with beautiful rainforests and waterfalls
Day 6 - Taipei zoo and the National Palace Museum
Any other "must see" places we missed? Please leave them in our comment section!
3/4 Meet Kai-Yi Day! Yippppeeeeee! FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY!
3/5 Recovering, getting to know each other, hopefully eating, pooping, and sleeping :)
3/6 AIT appointment! That is the day where we apply for the Visa to bring Kai-Yi home to Arizona! Hopefully our final will be available in time and we do not have to miss this appointment
3/10 10:00 pm Depart Taipei for LAX
3/10 1:40 pm Arrive LAX
3/10 6:15 pm Depart LAX for PHX HOME!!!!!!!
So there it is, now T-38 hours, 43 minutes! Wow!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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Timeline
January 8, 2007 Attend Adoption 101 Information Session in Mesa, AZ
January 22, 2006 - Apply for preapproval from our agencyand Taiwan
January 23, 2007 - Application for USCIS (I-600A) form submitted
January 28, 2007 - 1st Homestudy meeting
January 28, 2007 - Sign adoption contract with our agency
January 29, 2007 - Approved to adopt from Taiwan
February 1, 2007 - Clearance from state of Arizona
February 6, 2007- Maricopa application to adopt is filed
February 13, 2007 - Clearance from state of Michigan, Medical clearances, and Fingerprint invitation arrive from USCIS
February 24, 2007 - Fingerprinted for USCIS
March 11, 2007- Homestudy Complete and Court Certification from Maricopa County received
April 28, 2007 - Homestudy is translated into Mandarin
July 1, 2007 - Finally receive 171-H in the mail
July 6, 2007 - Get new case manager
July 22, 2007 - Sign adendum to contract
August 8, 2007 - Our lucky day! Referral for Lin Kai-Yi, born 6-3-06
August 8, 2007 - accept referral
August 13, 2007 - Sign Child Referral Agreement
August 23, 2007 - Paperwork arrives in Tucson
August 24, 2007 - Paperwork arrives to us
August 26, 2007 - Documents notorized (How many adults does it take to use a stamp?)
August 28, 2007 - Documents certified by AZ Sec. of State
August 29, 2007 Documents sent to TECO to be authenticated
September 4, 2007 - Documents arrive in Tucson from TECO
September 6, 2007 - Documents sent to Taiwan! YEAH!
September 10, 2007 - Update day! We receive 4 pics and a video!
October 2, 2007 - Receive word from TWCA that our hearing date is October 9, 2007 (this happened extreamly fast!)
October 9, 2007 - Keep your fingers crossed for a quick 1st ruling (even better yet, keep your fingers crossed for a final ruling!)
October 11, 2007 - October updates are here!
October 19, 2007 - Receive more pictures and videos from Ray's visit to Taiwan!
November 5, 2007 - November updates are here!
December 2, 2007 - December updates are here! Can't believe there has been no news all month!
December 13, 2007 - FINALLY! Word of our First Ruling! Yippeee! It happened on Dec. 13th in Taiwan (yesterday here)
January 4, 2008 - January updates
February 4, 2008 - February updates
February 28, 2008 - Leaving for Taipei!!!
February 29, 2008 - Arrive in Taipei!
March 4, 2008 - Gotcha Day! Can you even believe it!?!?!?
March 5, 2008 - FINAL RULING FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY! (by the way, our paperwork says the final ruling was issued December 24th!)
March 6, 2008 - First AIT appointment
March 7, 2008 - VISA DAY!
March 10, 2008 - Leave for home!
March 10, 2008 - Arrive home with our boy!!!!!!!!!!!
July 5, 2008 - Find out about Wil's arrival!
March 10, 2009 - Wil Shan-Yi Shaffer is born at 3:38 am 8 lbs. 4 oz. 20 inches long
5 comments:
Katie,
I would not worry about the quote from the social worker-he is tooooo smiley andhappy looking-and all 18mth olds can cry when they don't get their way-it just takes time-and you will have plenty of that!
Be Blessed dear friend, and can't wait to meet you in person
Hugs
Chris
WOW....are you going to be busy! little Leo is going to be excited and wild about you both. Who wouldn't you are the most caring and loving people i know. Enjoy your travels and charish his silence (or wailing if that occurs) because either one will change the next day when you see the true Leo SHINNING THROUGH. All children cry, crap, and creep away when they can......HAVE A BLAST! from now on this little guy will be with you and on your mind constantly:)))
TOOOOOO EXCITED!!!
You're about to meet your "cry baby" - can you even STAND IT!!! Oh, I have to say, that comment made me laugh and laugh! Yes, as everyone else says, toddlers are ALL cry babies!! My guess is that the agency is not very used to kids that age.
It seems, and this is to your benefit however hard it will be, that he is quite attached to his foster family. He appears to be a sweet, well adjusted kid and it may be take a while for him to just used to you guys. If you guys need some attachment ideas while you're there feel free to Skype me! (Just e-mail me to arrange a time)
Yay! We're so excited for you that you're finally on your way to meet your adorable little boy! We wish you safe travels and look forward to reading about your journey!
If you have time go to the National Palace Museum. It is one of the 4 best museums in the world and really gives you a sense of Chinese history. Plan on spending a couple of hourse there. Good dumplings in cool restaurant on the top floor also. YUM! -Shana
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